Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-09-03
R0bBING InMIGRANTS.
How the Railroads and castle Gardsn En-
ploYes Thrivs by shrewdness.
(bioOc, IJorolj


The tireless and courageous work Of 3
New York newspaper has borne fruit in
the pending investigation, by an agent Of
the Treasury Department, CT the immi-
grafton commissioners a. New York.
Some testimony has already been heard
and much more is promised Of the same
sort, the whole making out g prima facie
case CT corruption the most outrageous.
Even in this day and administration of
official reform and the explosion ofpubliC
scandals a more revolving spectacle Of
mslfeassnce in office than that ST Castle
Garden has not been held up to pubic
view. The commissioners business is
10 care for the newly arrived immi-
grants, protect them from rapaciOus
tradesmen and sharpers, afford them tenn
Dorary shelter and assist them on their
Journey TO the interior. No class OF peo-
pie stand in greater need OF such services.
Peasants, for the most part, uDskilled in
the ways OF cities, many Of them entirely
unacquainted with the English language
they arrive 81 Castle Garden sitter the
faugues of q steerage passage, weak, dis
traught and nesrly if rot quite helpless
| None of them is rich and some ere very
poor. OF their little store Of ready cash
| they have pressing need for every penny
| SO that they are at once the
easiest prey to rspaCity an6, of all per
son, the least able TO sustain a loss This
| honor Of the country demands protection
for these people. They ere, in q certain
sense, the courtry'5 guests, the poor anC
| helpless strangers ct the gate. EXcep
| tional cases OF psuperism and irCapaCity
aside, they DO honor to the county,
whose shores they seek and become &C
tive ard powerful factors in its wealth
They are foreigners, but they beget Amer
leans. What honor demanded Of The
country self-interest also prompted, anC
the commission was appointed TO see L
it that no harm came to these strangers
From the published testimony it is az
parent that these officials left undont
nothing that could add TO the enormit,
OF their breach Of trust. Under their ma
nipulatlOn the commission would seen
to have become machine for the en-
riChment OF the commission by the spolia
ton of the immigrants. A pool wa
formed under which the immigrants wer,
parCeled out to the different roads lead
ing TO the west, with no regard for thei
own preferences, and at an eXorbitan
rate, which, in the absence Of COmpeti-
ton was easily maintained. The New
York Central, the Pennsylvania, the Yves
Shore, the Baltimore and Ohio, and tn,
Ontario and Western are named as par
ties to this disreputable bargain. Al
sgent Of the commission SOLE
all the tickets and, it may b.
presumed, saw to it that neither him
self nor his principals were losers by The
transaction. Nor was this all. The car
and keeping of the immigrants at New
York were erected into various "privi
leges," which were peddled out TO mel
who had no care save 10 enrich them
selves. The bread stand was held 8
$4,000 year by one man, who recoupet
for his heavy rental by charging the immi
grants 35 ceuts for 10 cents worth o
luncheon. The money exchange was solt
to brace Of lows who turned thrift
pennies by charging preposterous rate
for changing foreign money into Amer
can. SO with everything, down even t
the rates for excess of baggage, WhicI
were IN some cases so onerous ss t
make the transportation Of the property
thing CT doubtful policy.
The immediate oCCasion.of the presen
Investigation was an alleged assault upo
g woman immigrant by one OF the com
missioners' employees. Secretary Fair
child, in pushing his inquiries, has in
Cured the enmlty of the ring which thu
far has dominated Castle Garden; nor d
these fellows lack the support Of unscrur
ulous newspapers, who affect to see moth
ing in the Secretary's order but bid o
behalf Of the administration for popula
| favor Rnt Mr. Eeirnhi1i Cd
istration, too, can well afford to endur
criticism OF this sort so long as the pros
pect remains OF righting great wrong.